Best Toddler Toys of 2008

Elmo Live is a marvel of modern technology. Elmo Live is full of beans, telling stories, jokes, dancing and singing. The most amazing part about Elmo Live is his laugh. The most unforgettable part about Elmo Live is the way he falls, realizes that he's fallen and then thanks you when you set him upright again. Pure magic. The people who've designed Elmo Live have done a marvelous job. It's no easy feat to make an animated character cross his legs, sit, stand, move his mouth, laugh, talk and much more. Elmo Live is a real winner - one of the best this holiday season. This is a great toddler toy which will fascinate your little ones and you too.

Recommended for ages 18 months and up.

The Smart Bounce and Spin pony from Fisher-Price, as the name suggests, will bounce around while your baby spins with joy. What sets this toy apart is that it combines learning with play. While your child rides the pony, animations and fun sounds which are designed for young kids will come to life on your TV wirelessly. Babies and toddlers can pick up on basic concepts easily as they are associated with fun. This is a great toddler toy which your child will really enjoy.

This toy is great for ages 12 months - 36 months.

A stacking and a pull-push toy all rolled in one! This sounds like something a toddler would really love. In fact, our mini toy testers liked this toy from Haba so much, they made a beeline towards it in their next play session too. The toy consists of 9 pieces made of beech wood. There are colorful wheels on which the toy moves. These pieces can be stacked on the rods attached to the toy base. There are cute smiley faces and attachments like hands and hair bows on some of the pieces which gives the impression of little miniature people. A very charming toddler toy - a must have for your precious little one.

This toy is ideal for kids aged 18 months and up.

The Melody Express Learning Train from Learning Resources was one of the toys I remember from Toy Fair earlier this year. It immediately caught my attention because the concept was so simple and yet effective. Basically, this lovely toy consists of a train running along a track which you have to put together. What's different about this particular train track is that it consists of different colored tiles, all of which sound a different musical note when the train runs across them. In essence, you can make your own tunes by choosing from the 65 included note tiles or you can follow the color coded instructions in the book. That sounds like fun, doesn't it!

This toy is ideal for kids aged 36 months to 6 years.

The Feed and Learn Singing Croc is a great way to introduce the ABC's to your toddler. Kids will love putting letters into the crocodile's mouth and hear it sing a different song for each letter. You can open the crocodile's tummy to take out the letters inside and start the activity all over again. I found this toy to be very friendly looking and it immediately appealed to the little ones.

The recommended age is 18 months and up.

This classic toy from Schylling Associates is a lot of fun for toddlers who want to show off their newly acquired walking skills. It's basically a pull/push along toy which consists of a rainbow colored base. It's pretty fascinating to watch the colors merge into each other o form a beautiful rainbow effect tas the Color Roller is pulled along the floor. The Color Roller also makes a sound when pulled along, thus adding to the fun.

This toy is recommended for ages 18 months to 3 years.

Music and toddlers get along famously. This charming piano from MegaBloks combines their trademark kid sized blocks with music. The piano itself has 8 big colorful keys. There are also a total of seven blocks including song blocks and instrument blocks. These blocks can be used to change the piano notes to guitar, xylophone or drum beats. You can even make the piano play popular nursery rhymes like "Twinkle Twinkle" and "Old Mac Donald" by selecting the right block. Kids can try their hand at creating their own music, or follow the easy color coded instructions on the music sheets. This is a toddler toy which will be around for a while, useful even when your child grows older.

Ideal for ages 12 months and up.

I simply loved the Click Clack toy from Plan Toys. Click Clack is made from 100% replenishable rubberwood and it contains only non-toxic and kid safe materials. It's a fascinating toy to watch and everyone who saw it, loved it. Click Clack has wooden balls which roll over the tracks onto the next level below. It's great for developing your child's hand-eye co-ordination and visual skills. If you're a parent who is concerned about buying quality and truly green toys for your child, you can close your eyes and pick up a toy from Plan Toys.

Ideal for ages 19 months and up.

I love the Learning Resources line of toys. They are so educational and designed with a lot of thought. The Smart Snacks Counting Fun Fruit Bowl is a very basic toy, yet it achieves so much. You can start your kids learning basic math principles with this set of fruit in a bowl. You can split the fruit up into different numbered slices, put parts together to create wholes and of course, play with the colorful fruits itself. Toddlers will love to learn the names of these colorful fruits and as they grow, they can pick up the numbers and even start to count.

This toy is great for ages 36 months and up.

ImagiPlay puzzles are a treat to play with. These wonderful wooden puzzles are made from natural, non-toxic materials and are very environmentally friendly. Putting things together is a basic skill which all babies love and which should be encouraged to do. The ImagiPlay puzzles are a beautiful range of colorful wooden puzzles based mostly on animals. They are ideal to give your toddler a 3-D experience in puzzle solving.

Ideal for ages 2 and up.